A Spanish Lesson
by Scott Gardner
Teach in Chile 2008
To say that my experience in Santiago, Chile, was a challenge would be an understatement. I had this really strange idea that all I would be learning was more Spanish. I guess it was good for me to enter the experience blindly because I might have missed out on an incredible experience because of fear.
When my plane landed in Santiago, words couldn’t describe my excitement. I charged ahead at full steam, knowing that nothing would stop me… Then life happened. I found difficulties adjusting to life in a foreign country, life without my friends and family, and life in a new work environment. I managed things well that first semester in Chile; I think there was so much going on that I couldn’t concentrate on what was bothering me. However, after the first semester had ended, things just seemed to get worse when my best friend that I had made in Chile left the country. I was devastated and was on the brink of leaving the program before my second semester of teaching had begun. I entered those first days in the classroom with a sense of dread and of wanting to leave, but something kept me there.
That force drawing me back to Chile was two classes of Audiovisual Communication students at the DUOC Institute. These two classes will never fully understand what an amazing impact they made on my experience in Chile. We had a rough start getting to know each other, but then things just seemed to flow so easily. They realized the importance of having a native speaker with them, and they appreciated and almost savored it. They loved to hear me talk about life in the English speaking world and they also loved that I wanted to know about their culture. It fascinated them that I had chosen Chile of all places in the world. They were the first students to fully grasp that I wasn’t just “Profe” to them; I was also their peer and friend.
In my final weeks in Santiago, my students learned that I wouldn’t be there after their summer vacation, and it actually made them sad because they wanted me to be their teacher again. They told me what a great job I had done as a teacher, which touched me so much because it showed they really cared. However, the true gesture of gratitude was when one of my classes invited me to a farewell party. That night at the party I felt truly part of something much bigger than a teaching experience. There I sat hanging out with Chileans, speaking Spanish, eating Chilean food, and truly feeling like I had achieved something amazing. In those few hours I felt like I was part of Chile and that Chile had become part of me.
Yes, it was difficult teaching abroad, but that’s why not everyone does it. It can be really hard at times, but it can also be so rewarding. I walked in expecting a Spanish lesson and got a life lesson and a true life experience. So, in the words of Violeta Parra: “Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto.”